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| Muslim vote key factor for Jammu-Poonch seat | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 15-Though there are more than 10 candidates in the field, the main contest in Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency, where polling is scheduled to be held tomorrow, is among the candidates fielded by the Congress, the BJP, the PDP and the BSP. The mood in the congress camp is upbeat.
Congress spokesman Ravinder Sharma said "the Congress candidate has an edge over its rivals." In reply to a question he said that the BJP would be the first runner up in the election result.
Others supporting the Congress candidate Madan Lal Sharma said that since 1967 Lok Sabha elections the Congress has bagged Jammu-Poonch seat seven times, followed by BJP twice, National Conference once and an Independent, belonging to the BJP, once. They said on the basis of this analogy Congress will retain the Jammu seat.
In reply to another question Ravinder Sharma said that Muslim voters, constituting 33 per cent of the total electorate of over 16.50 lakh, may ultimately prove a deciding factor. He claimed that since majority of Muslims were not willing to vote for the BJP candidate the Congress may win the Jammu seat hands down.
On the other hand the BJP leadership expressed optimism over the victory of its candidate Leela Karan Sharma on the plea that Sharma had become a household name during the two-month long agitation over Amarnath land row. The party leaders said that those people who had supported Leela Karan Sharma during the agitation will not ditch him in the election. Against this the PDP leaders are of the opinion that the Congress claim on the Muslim vote bank support may prove hollow because Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter, Mehbooba, are treated with respect in Poonch and Rajouri areas.
Experts are of the opinion that the polling percentage in the tomorrow’s battle of the ballot in Jammu-Poonch constituency may range between 40 and 45 per cent. They argue that peoples' enthusiasm during the electioneering has not been so vigorous as was witnessed during the recent Assembly election.
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